British scientists seek guarantees for researchers bidding for EU funding

Leading scientists have called on the government to underwrite any funding that UK based researchers are currently applying for from the EU.

Venki Ramakrishnan, president of the Royal Society, has called for the UK government to ensure that EU research funding is guaranteed in case this financial support ends when Britain leaves the EU, following June’s referendum that voted for a “Brexit” from Europe.

During an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight programme screened on 26 July, he said, “I am worried that if we are perceived as an inward looking country that’s not welcoming to the outside world—and that is the impression that some people have got—then I think it’s bad.